[Double Thesis] Stem cell research is opposed by many government officials because similar to abortion because they say it parallels an “unborn life.” The stem cells researched are ones isolated from a human embryo that can be used to replace dying cells or to take the place of cells that cannot reproduce by mitosis. On the other hand, stem cells should be cultivated because of the benefits specifically gained from cloning, genetically modifying cells, and cultivating stem cells from a human embryo.
[Common Ground] People suffer from many medical problems such as neuron to spinal cord damage, strokes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other medical problems (Farrell). Everyone can agree it would be good to be able to treat diseases that seem incurable. The possibilities keep growing as more research is conducted on this topic, which has occurred since 1998 (Blow). Many stem cells can be cultivated from other areas of the body, but the only difference is they’re preprogrammed like a computer to sustain one goal. The main objective is to get stem cells to be universal so that they can take the place of dying cells.
In addition, these cells can be taken from any other region of the body like the liver to help with organ transplants. When there’s was not enough livers to go around for transplants it motivated stem cell biologist Takanori Takebe and his colleagues at the Department of Regenerative Medicine at Yokohama City University in Japan to find an another solution (McGowan). As they experimented with animals such as rats they found a solution that would assist those with liver failure. In 2014, “they succeeded in generating mini-livers, or liver buds, from stem cells that were taken from human skin and reprogrammed to an embryonic state (Embryonic stem cells are notable because they can morph into virtually any cell type in the body.)” (McGowan).
[Common Ground] Cloning
[History] November 1998, two research teams directed by James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin and John Gearhart of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine both decided to announce the isolation of human stem cells that they had been independently researching. The discovery was recognized as one of many great medical and ethical standing. Senate hearings to debate about federal funding for research on the newly found cell research began the following December. During the summer of 2000, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association decided to favor of embryonic stem cell research. Over many protests from pro-life activists from the National Right to Life Committee, the administration of President Bill Clinton allowed federal funds for the research (Farrell).
Federal funding was reliant upon researchers agreeing to only use leftover frozen embryos from fertility clinics as samples. Also, no financial benefit was allowed for donors because of suspicions about producing a profitable trade in human embryos.
This policy changed when George W. Bush became president in January 2001. During, his election campaign Bush had been an opinionated foe of any research involving the damage of human embryos (Coghlan). Regardless of pleas from the American Medical Association and a union of eighty Nobel laureates (someone who is honored with an award for outstanding creative or intellectual achievement), all federal funding for embryonic stem cell research was superseded. The decision was finalized by a general alliance of outdated anti-abortion and religious groups.
Anti-abortion Christian groups viewed the use of cell lines (Groups of cells produced in a lab from common origin) taken from a destroyed embryo as disrespectful to human life. In some ways they believed a human being was being killed for science. Some people also drew parallels between embryonic stem cell research and experiments done in Nazi Germany on condemned prisoners (Farrell).
[History] Dolly the sheep was born on July 5, 1996 and died in February 2003. She was euthanized (Put down) after the discovery of a progressive lung disease. She was created by the Roslin Institute and biotechnology company PPL Therapeutics near Edinburgh, Scotland. Dolly’s birth was recognized as the first cloning of a mammal (Brice). Dolly was first successfully cloned adult mammal, by using somatic cell (any cell of a living organism other than the reproductive cells), as she was carved from the mammary tissue of a fully grown sheep (Brice).
Cloning in biology is the process of producing genetically identical individuals, or the creation of a copy, which means that clones have been occurring in nature for years like twins (Brice). Following this theory scientists tried to recreate this method by trying to split an embryo in half. Hans Adolf Edward Driesch attempted to experiment with four celled sea urchins (Brice). He shook apart the blastomere (a cell formed by cleavage of a fertilized ovum). Afterwards, instead of creating two different parts of the animals he ended up with two sea urchins and effectively disproved Weissman’s theory.
Driesch recreated the experiment several times with sea urchins, and found the same thing. Roux’s and Driesch’s work led to the work of Hans Spemann. Spemann worked with salamanders. Since, they have tightly bonded natures, Spemann used his son’s hair as a noose to separate the cells (Brice). The two separated cells created two adult salamanders from the original salamander (Brice).